Those Death City Summers
by ThisQueenShallConquer
Summary: At the end of the day he is not his brother and she is not her mother. It's not their duty to uphold their family's legacies. Small Town AU where Soul moves to Death City to help out his aging Grandmother and get some space from his parents. And Maka tries to decide her plans for the future whilst struggling with the increasing pressure to follow in her mama's footsteps.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: hope you guys enjoy this!

Disclaimer: Soul Eater is not mine (do people still do this anymore *shrugs*)

* * *

 _Standing on the pegs of Soul's BMX was a lot more hazardous than Maka had initially thought. She's pretty sure there must be finger shaped bruises blooming on his shoulders from where she'd fiercely gripped him for dear life._

 _The bike skids to a stop as they reach her house, grit flying in all directions from the gravelled path-way. He glances over his shoulder at her, fixing her with a lopsided grin, clearly pleased with himself that he'd managed to get them here in one piece._

 _He wore self-assurance well. It was a rare sight and Soul's proud expression was doing funny things to her insides._

 _"See! You're fine!" he prods as Maka clambers off the back of the bike, doing her best not to fall over. Soul was obsessed with being cool, landing straight on her face right in front of him would not help her stay in his good graces._

 _"Don't get all cocky! I thought we were gonna die at one point!" she huffs, flattening out the skirt of her dress with her hands._

 _"That dog came out of nowhere!" he squeaks defensively, voice still in the clutches of puberty "You're alive aren't you!"_

 _"Only just" Maka mumbles under her breath, starting to walk up the path to her front porch, surprised when she hears the clatter of his bike being tossed to the floor, glancing over to see him following her up to the front door._

 _"Just making sure you get home safe" he shrugs at her questioning glance._

 _"I think I can handle the last couple of steps, thanks" she rolls her eyes, unable to fight back her smile as they climb the steps onto the front porch, shoulder to shoulder._

 _He stands a little taller than usual, temporarily ditching his trademark slouch. When at his full height he's a couple inches taller than her, a fact that surprises her a little. He looks suddenly nervous, shoving his hands into his pockets, glancing down the darkened street as they stand before her door._

 _"You didn't have to come all this way to drop me off" Maka says softly, breaking the silence. The atmosphere has changed as they've grown closer to her door. She was no longer sure what to do with herself, clutching the hem of her sundress tightly._

 _"S'not cool to let you walk all this way alone" he shrugs again, but there's a slight curve to his lips and something affectionate in his eyes when he looks down at her. It makes Maka's heart swell inside her chest._

 _"Well thanks, Soul" her gaze flickering anxiously between the floor and his face. "What time are you leaving?" she asks, chewing her bottom lip lightly. She has always hated the last week or so of his visits. They were always so full of reminders that he wasn't going to be there anymore, not for another year anyway._

 _"Tomorrow mornin'" he sighs and Maka takes solace in seeing that he looks just as disappointed as she is. "It's gonna suck back home without you guys"._

 _He never talks much about his life back home but Maka is pretty sure he not happy there._

 _"Yeah….Blake's really gonna miss you"_

 _He snorts, his mouth twisting upwards "and what about you, Pigtails? Will you miss me?"_

 _"I'll be positively heartbroken" Maka deadpans, trying to fight off a grin "how will my heart ever be whole again?" she teases, but it was only half an act, really. It always hurt her to see him go._

 _He snickers and Maka can't help but join in._

 _"I'll be back next year, I promise" he smiles, reaching out to tug on her left pigtail playfully._

 _"You better" Maka smiles warmly, gripping his wrist loosely. She normally hated it when he tugged at her hair, would usually grab his arm and twist it until he stopped. But she couldn't scold him or whack him with one of her books now._

 _Everything had felt so different between them this summer, like they were teetering on the edge of something bigger. No more so than in this moment. His fingers linger in her hair, wrapping the strands lazily around his fingers. His thumb lightly brushes her cheek and then, before Maka knows it, they're both leaning closer._

 _Maka's heart is in her throat. Was this really happening?_

 _"Can I…?" he murmurs as Maka tilts her chin upwards, green eyes heavy-lidded. She's all pale-lashes and flushed cheeks._

 _"Yes…" she exhales breathily and then his lips are on hers._

 _His mouth is so soft and tastes faintly of chapstick but she doesn't really have time to be self-conscious about her own cracked lips. The kiss is chaste but it make her chest burn all the same. When he pulls away a few seconds later, she follows with him, wanting to pull him back to her, wanting him to stay._

 _Because for the first time in her life she had a proper crush, a crush who actually liked her back and now she wouldn't get to see him until next summer._

 _"I'll definitely be back, Maka" his lips press against her cheek this time, and Maka believes him._

* * *

Death City, Maka had always mused, was a really bizarre choice of name for a small town in the middle of nowhere. Hell, calling it a town was being generous, Death City was a tiny little village surrounded by nothing but farmland and a small forest. It was a 40 minute drive to anything exciting and all the children had to commute to the neighbouring town to go to school.

Not only did the City part make zero sense to Maka, but the Death part was so macabre it was no wonder they had next-to-no tourists, despite the rather lovely scenery.

Maybe the morbid title was more in relation to the population of Death City than the place itself. The locals often liked to joke that there was something funny in the water as its inhabitants were unusual to say the least, with their strange names and even stranger appearances.

Apparently, elsewhere in the US it wasn't very common to name your child Kid and vivid blue was not considered a natural hair colour. Even Maka herself hadn't escaped these Death City trends, with outsiders often mistaking her name for a certain caffeinated beverage (if she was called Mocha one more time!) and her green eyes which were so vibrant it bordered on the unnerving.

But as crazy as Death City might be to outsiders (and some insiders too) Maka couldn't help but feel emotionally tethered to it. She'd lived there her whole life, hadn't really known anything else other than the quaint town. That's why, as the time for college drew ever closer, she was finding it so hard to make a decision.

If you'd asked her before she turned fourteen if she'd ever thought about leaving Death City the answer would have been a resounding no, but sadly, her life here hadn't always been sunshine and rainbows. It was hard when this place held such bad memories for her. There were constant reminders of her mama everywhere she went, not to mention that she had to live in the same house where everything had gone so terribly wrong. Where her mother had felt so trapped. It's hard to stay in a love with a place when it constantly reminds you of the day when your whole family fell apart.

* * *

Marie is trying to sort through the mountain of boxes in Frank's office when Maka calls round one afternoon. She'd been visiting her Godparents a lot more frequently this summer. As Marie's due date grew increasingly closer she needed more and more help to get things organised and Maka was more than willing to assist with the preparations.

They'd spent most of last week packing up all the stuff from the spare room into boxes before piling them into the office, making it completely useless. Maka had spent the rest of the week rounding up the girls and painting the old guest room a suitable colour for a new-born. Liz was still complaining about all not being able to remove the pastel yellow splotches from her nails.

It was a little bitter-sweet when she painted over all the tired magnolia walls with the new colour. This had been her second bedroom in a way, she'd always stayed here whenever her parents were too busy with work or when their fights became a little too raucous. It was a shame to let it go. But Maka was willing to make sacrifices for the new baby. This wasn't her house, at the end of the day, and she isn't a kid anymore, no matter how much she liked to cling onto the past.

"Anything we haven't used in a year is getting tossed" Marie declares, flicking through a box of knick-knacks on the kitchen table. Maka was handling all the lifting, her body felt a little sore but Marie's belly was way too rounded these days for her to be able to pick up anything large.

"Are you sure?" Maka asks, looking at the ever growing stack of items in the 'junk' pile. It seemed like half the contents of the house had been thrown onto it.

"I can't afford to get sentimental" Marie sighs "the baby will take up so much room…"

Marie will make a good mother, Maka has absolutely no doubts about that. She'd been a mother figure to her Maka's entire life, especially after Kami left. She doesn't know where she'd be without Marie's gentle brand of guidance.

It's a lot of work, they probably won't get it all done today. Marie and Frank were both Death City born and bred, they probably moved straight from their family homes to here. That's a lot of years to spend in one place and the sheer amount of their belongings reflected that.

"Whilst you're here Maka -" Marie begins and there's something tentative about her smile, it spells bad news to Maka.

"What is it?" Maka asks, pausing what she's doing. Was something wrong? It wasn't the baby, was it? Or Frank?

"It's nothing bad, really" Marie assures her "Spirit was just saying something the other day –"

"What's he done now?" Maka scowls, her papa had a bad habit of talking about her to everyone they knew. Not bad things, _embarrassing things_ , the sort that would make anyone cringe. She pities all those in town who still have to hear the story of how quickly she learnt how to ride a bike 11 years after the fact.

"Nothing! He just mentioned that he'd noticed that you'd been looking at a lot of colleges recently"

Aww crap, and she'd been trying so hard to be discreet. She knew how papa could get, any sign of her leaving and he'd freak out. She'd wanted to avoid anyone here finding out, wanted it to stay between her and mama.

"And he wants to know if I'm leaving, is that it?" Maka lips purse in annoyance. Her papa wanted her to stay, her mama wanted her to leave. She couldn't win.

"No! He was just worried and so I am to be honest" Marie's mouth is a thin line.

"Worried?" Maka frowns, _about what?_

"You put a lot of pressure on yourself Maka, with school, work and your extra circulars. College is still two years away, don't start focusing on it too much yet. Enjoy yourself"

Maka sighs. _Oh_ , that's what they were worried about. She wishes her mom had that same mentality. Maka would love to put this to one side and just focus on her remaining time at high school but her mama wouldn't let it drop and now Marie and papa knew something was up.

At least they didn't know that it was mama who was fuelling her sudden interest in colleges, her papa always got so closed off when she was mentioned. Probably from the guilt, Maka can't say that it was unwarranted.

"There's no rush" Marie pats her shoulder lightly, before offering her a drink. She's all ease and warm smiles.

It hurts to hear Marie saying the things she wishes would come from her own mother's lips.

* * *

Maka tucks a few strands of damp hair behind her ear, opening up a rather weathered college brochure (one of many that were strewn across her bed) as she sits, cross-legged, in a nest of paper and booklets.

She'd had a good morning so far, had gone for a nice run, hopped in the shower and even had time to finish the book she was reading. The call from her mother had been am unexpected perk and Maka was feeling quite happy.

Even if the conversation with her mama had headed straight into college territory again.

Her fingers drum an uneven rhythm against the cover as her eyes scan over the familiar images and paragraphs. The NYU brochure was, by all standards, impressive.

She could understand why her mama was so keen on her applying, even if Kami was a little biased. Her mama had studied there, after all, had moved to the big city to follow her dreams to become an MD. All before she ever met Spirit Albarn, the charming young police officer from a small town. Long before she traded in the big city life for her husband's childhood home and a small medical practise. Before Maka was born and before her father's infidelity began.

 _"You'll love it there, Maka!"_ Kami had told her so emphatically during their (rather brief) phone conversation _"an intelligent girl like you would be wasted stuck in_ _that_ _place"_

She didn't really like the way her mama talked about Death City. It wasn't the town's fault that her mama had been so unhappy there, it was her father's fault for cheating. Just because mama had found her happiness by moving away didn't mean that Death City wasn't a worth-while place

Maka exhales through her nose, flicking the brochure shut and instead picking up a prospectus for the local university. It wasn't half as prestigious as NYU but Shibusen was still a good school, Tsubaki would start classes there soon and it wasn't too long a commute every morning. She could stay in her childhood home and wouldn't have to leave any of her friends behind.

Maka was still so torn though, maybe looking around would help her make up her mind? What if she fell completely in love with Shibusen though? That was her biggest fear by far, having to tell her mama, to hear the disappointment in her voice. She didn't want to make her mama unhappy again.

Her phone vibrates against her sheets, giving her a much needed excuse to forget all her concerns about her future. Time to get ready for work. Sliding off her bed she began changing into the faded yellow dress and white apron of her uniform. Gathering all the pamphlets into a semi-neat pile before shoving them under the bed and hurrying down stairs. She wouldn't make the mistake of leaving them out for papa to find again.

She makes sure Blair has enough food and water to last her the day before grabbing her keys out of the ceramic dish by the door, locking it behind her.

It's during her shift at the Diner that she finds out that Soul Evans is back in town. It feels like all her organs have been swirled around inside her body. She stares blankly at the text from Blake, his obnoxious, all-caps writing style mocking her through the bright glare of her screen.

 _U WON'T GUESS WHOS BCK! ;_ D

He'd sent her out of the blue, it wasn't often that they spoke via text, they saw each so much in person that it wasn't always necessary.

Who?

She typed back warily, not all that interested at first, setting her phone onto the counter beside her as she served a customer.

 _NO!_

 _GUESS!_

Maka huffs in annoyance. Blake always liked to play these games, usually the answer was something boring and mundane. Last time it had been that the fast food joint outside town was serving the gross rib-sandwich-burger-monstrosity that he loved so much.

Your mom?

Mira had gone to visit her mother in the retirement community out of town a few days ago but it didn't really make sense for Blake to be so hyped about her return. But, then again, was there ever a time where Blake wasn't all pumped up about something stupid?

 _NOPE! AHAHAHAHAHA! U'LL NVER FUCKIN GUESS PIGTAILS!_

Just tell me then!

 _A BELOVED MINION HAS RETURNED INTO THE FOLD!_

Maka's stomach plummets. No, pleas no! She frantically watches those three small dots bob up and down as she awaits his reply. She has a terrible feeling about this.

 _MY BESTEST BRO! MY BROCHACHO!_

 _MY BROBI-WAN KANOBI!_

 _BROBA FETT HIMSELF!_

 _HAN BROLO!_

Just spit it out!

Maka types back anxiously, she was not in the mood for his annoying, dudebro puns right now!

 _OK OK!_

 _SOUL. IS. BACK!_

 _AWESOME RIGHT?!_

 _COME OVR L8TER K? THE 3 AMGIGOS BCK 2GETHA!_

All her fears had been confirmed. Nope, no way, she did not need this now, did not need this _ever!_

 _Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck!_

Maka lets her phone drop onto the counter with a clatter, ignoring it as Blake begins to blow up her phone with plans for the three of them. It hurts knowing how excited he is, he thinks that it'll be like how it was before, the three musketeers all back together. But Maka _cannot_ see Soul. Not without it being super uncomfortable anyway.

She's was still upset, damnit! Still torn up about a stupid broken promise he'd made when they were kids. She doesn't know how to act around Soul anymore, not after he let her down, not when she'd trusted him and he made her feel like a fool.

It was just for the summer though, right? She could avoid him for a few weeks!

She blows Blake off because (luckily) she's working late and pockets her phone. She tries to throw everything into her work but the Diner is nowhere near busy enough to be distracting and her stomach doesn't sit right for the rest of the day.

* * *

"See you tomorrow" Ox mumbles out, not even glancing at them as he leaves through the front door, letting to clatter closed behind him.

"Ugh, why Mira doesn't fire his ass I'll never know" Liz grumbles as she wipes down the last of the tables with more aggression than was needed.

"We weren't that busy today so his slacking wasn't too bad" Maka says, more trying to keep the peace between the staff than actually in defines of Ox Ford, their rather insufferable fry-cook.

"True, but he still shouldn't be texting Kim all hours of the day. I would _love_ to be on Tinder all day but I manage to keep things professional!" the older girl sniffs haughtily, packing up the cleaning products, taking them to the supply cupboard.

"Mira can't be too picky with her staff these days, with so many people leaving, she's got limited choices" something curdles in Maka stomach when she thinks of all the closed businesses and empty houses around town, it was starting to feel like the town was dying.

"I guess so" Liz admits begrudgingly "you want a lift home?" she asks, changing the subject.

"Yeah" Maka blinks in surprise "yeah, that would be great" she really didn't fancy walking all the way home, even if it was still quite light outside "but you don't have a car"

Maka's own car had packed in a couple of weeks back, the poor old thing was now rusting away in a junk yard. She missed it, she'd forgotten how hard it was to get around on foot.

"Yes" she smiles triumphantly "but Kid's back from New York and he's offered me a ride, I'm sure he'd be fine dropping you off too"

"Okay, cool. Thanks!" Maka smiles warmly, feeling grateful that Liz was the sort of person who always liked to ensure her friends got home safe. There weren't a whole lot of street lamps in town and Maka's house was pretty near the outskirts which made walking home a rather terrifying experience. Hell, Liz used to make Maka text her when she got home even when Maka still had her car!

"No problem, you've given me hundreds of lifts" Liz shrugs, sitting herself down in one of the booths as they wait for Kid to pull up "us girls gotta look out for each other" she hums, resting her cheek in her palm.

* * *

"Oh hello, Maka" Kid greets politely from the driver's seat as they climb into the car, Liz in the passenger's seat, Maka in the back.

"You don't mind giving her a ride, right?" Liz asks, adjusting her hair in the wing-mirror.

"Not at all" Kid gives Maka a slight smile before glancing back at the older girl "seatbelt, Liz"

"Really?" Liz sighs in exasperation.

"Really" Kid confirms sternly, folding his arms as if refusing to drive until she did it.

"Fine! Fine!" Liz huffs, plugging in her seatbelt "happy?" she asks, shooting him a glare that is rather tame by Liz's standards. That woman could shrivel up a person's soul with a single glance if she wanted.

"Yes" Kid acknowledges, gripping the steering wheel again, starting to turn the car around in the parking lot before pulling back onto the quiet street.

"How was NYU?" Maka questions, leaning forward slightly, resting an elbow on the back of Liz's seat, not at all surprised by their bickering.

"It was good. Their campus is very impressive and I really think it would be a great place to attend"

Liz makes a little noise in the back of her throat, somewhere between snort and a whine "but Shibusen is also really good, plus your dad's a pretty big deal there, right?" the way she says it makes it seem like she was clutching at straws "besides, who'd wanna stay in crappy dorms with a bunch of strangers when you could stay in a house like yours".

Liz has a point. Kid's dad was the richest man in town, his big stately house was perched on a hill at the other end of town, surrounded amazing scenery and a massive pool in the backyard, Maka wouldn't pass it up easily if she were Kid.

Maka, Blake, Tsubaki and Soul had spent many hours running around Kid's back garden and dive-bombing into his pool, often whilst Kid sat reading in the shade, watching them with a bemused expression.

Thinking about that past hurt. Thinking about Soul hurt.

"I'm still considering it, Liz" they share a look and Maka gets the impression that this was a common topic between them. Worry is evident in Liz's crystal blue eyes and she's so sincere and so beautiful that it's a wonder to Maka that Kid doesn't give in then and there.

"Fine" Liz mumbles petulantly, sinking a bit lower in her seat, fixing her gaze out of the window. It was understandable that Liz wouldn't want Kid to go too far away, he'd been good to her and her sister, letting them stay in his dad's pool house when they showed up in Death City a year ago, kicked out by their mother with nothing but a rusted old car and the clothes on their backs.

Liz and Patty had come so far since then.

Guilt twists in her stomach. If she and Kid both left would Liz and Patty be okay? Would the town be okay? Kid's dad and her Papa were two of the pillars of the community, if Kid and the police chief's daughter up and left would others follow suit? She didn't know what Ox and Kim's plans were after school. Could Death City survive if the new generation were all gone? Maka doubted it.

* * *

Blair is perched on the end of the swing chair when Maka makes it back onto her front porch, nearly scaring the life out of her in the darkness.

"Blair!" Maka hisses, clutching her heart "you nearly killed me!" but she still outstretches a hand to pet the black cat, starching her behind the ears.

"See you later, Maka!" Liz calls to her, having to lean across Kid to wave at her through the open driver's side window.

Maka waves back, gathering Blair into her arms as they drive off. Pulling her keys out of the pocket of her apron, she opens the door, placing Blair down carefully as they enter the darkened hallway.

As expected, the house is empty. She closes the door behind her, turning lights on as she goes, finding a yellow sticky note attached to the fridge as she steps into the kitchen.

 _Working late tonight!_

 _There's take-out in the fridge. I'm super, super sorry, baby girl! I'll make it up to you!_

The message is followed by a rather wonky drawing of a heart and as many hugs and kisses her papa could cram onto the small slip of paper.

Sighing, she peals it off, crumpling it in her hand and tossing it in the trash before shoving the takeout leftovers her father had saved for her into the microwave

She's not really surprised that her papa's gone again, more disappointed than anything. She's not 8 years old anymore, Maka doesn't buy his lies about working late. There hadn't been a major crime in Death City in years, he had no reason to stay at the station after hours. She knows full well he's sat in that sleazy old bar in the next town over, knows that he's probably chatting up some poor, unsuspecting girl this very minute.

"Hey" Maka greets softly as Blair's tail curls around her leg, reaching down to tickle under the cat's chin just as the microwave dings.

Sitting on the couch in the semi-dark living room, all alone (sans Blair) and watching some crappy romcom was not Maka's idea of a good night but she'd gotten used it, _had_ to get used to it after her mother left. It was just her and papa now and, considering papa was out more often than not, she spent most of her time in this house by herself.

The mornings were fine, _good_ even. She could handle waking up in an empty house, sunshine streaming in, going for a jog, making breakfast alone and then heading to work. That was all fine with her. It was the evenings she hated.

It was sad to think how full of life this place had been when she was younger.

Her mama helping her with homework on the breakfast bar, Blake running around the yard stark naked, reading with Kid on the back porch, making lemonade with Marie in the kitchen. Skipping with Tsubaki, her parents holding either end of the jump-rope, laughing and happily married. Water fights when it grew unbearably hot, super soakers and strawberry popsicles, first loves and first kisses at sunset with white haired boys who liked to disappear.

It was all gone now and she'd tried too long and too hard to get it back. This house would never be like that again. It was just any empty shell filled with memories of a broken family.

Perhaps mama was right, maybe she should just go to New York, a new start might be good for her. Even if her instincts said otherwise. They'd been wrong in the past, she had to remember that.

* * *

Rattling the door knob to make sure the front door was locked, Maka began her way upstairs, smiling slightly to herself when she hears Blair following after her.

Stepping inside her bedroom the first thing that catches her eye is the unfamiliar book laid on top of her neatly made bed. It was the sequel to the book she'd finished this morning.

Her heart clenches.

Her papa really wasn't all that bad, certainly not as clueless as she sometimes liked to make out. He was always trying to keep up with everything in her life, had always tried his best to make her happy even if they didn't spend that much time together these days.

Blair climbs into her lap as she sits down, firing up her laptop. Maka begins reading the blurb of her new book whilst she waits, spinning herself back and forth in the chair as the computer loads.

As soon as her desktop flickers on she puts the book aside (being more tender than she usually is with her papa's gifts), opening up her emails, scrolling through to make sure she was up to date. Her mama had mentioned that she might send her some pictures of Italy, it was probably a little soon to be checking, her mama had only brought it up this morning but she might as well be sure!

Instead all she was greeted with were endless Facebook notifications from Blake.

"What the…?" she mumbles, brows furrowing as she scrolls downward.

 _ALMIGHTY BLACK*STAR has uploaded a new album, ALMIGHTY BLACK*STAR has updated his profile picture, ALMIGHTY BLACK*STAR has updated his cover photo._

Why was it telling her this? She didn't need to know the ins and outs of Blake's life! Maybe she shouldn't have set him as one of her 'close friends' on the infernal site, maybe that's why she was getting spammed with his bullshit.

Seething, Maka types in the address at the top of the screen, hell bent on cutting off the endless stream of notifications. Within two seconds she's greeted by her news feed, a ridiculous selfie of Blake being the first thing her rather tired eyes focus on.

 _What the hell was he up to?!_

Looking further down her feed she notices more pictures, one in particular catching her eye, making her do a quick double-take.

' _SHADY'S BACK!'_ Blake has captioned above. It was a selfie, Blake was pulling a face and doing some sort of gang sign with his hand (looking like a complete moron) whilst a rather annoyed Soul Evans sat beside him on the Barret's couch.

Shit, they had hung out tonight, hadn't they? Hell, knowing Blake they'd probably be partying till dawn, maybe even terrorising the village by this point.

She moves to her window, Blair jumping off her lap. Ignoring her cat's noises of displeasure, Maka pushes the floral curtains aside so she can squint through the window at the Barret's house. It's a fair ways down the street and Maka has to open the window and hang her head outside to get a proper view. But it seems quiet, only a few lights were on downstairs. Well, at least those two numbskulls weren't throwing a party in Mira's absence.

It was a little disappointing really, she'd have loved to have seen them getting shut down by the cops. Well, maybe not so much Blake…

Stomping back over to her seat she clicks on the picture, enlarging it on the screen. What she had found cute when she was 13 she now considered down-right attractive. Puberty had been good to Soul Evans. His bone structure was something to be envied, all high cheek bones and square jaw, no more pudgy cheeks or baby fat it sight. His red eyes were narrowed into a disapproving glare, pink lips pursed slightly in annoyance. He even wore his old scruffy hair style well!

Damn, life was unfair.

Maka still looked the same as she had when she was 13, still very slim with a round face and large eyes, still bony kneed and flat chested. The same body type he'd mocked her for having. Scowling, she clicks on the name that Blake had so faithfully tagged in the picture.

Soul Evans' page was a definite surprise. She'd expected, with a face like that, to see pictures of him everywhere, hell, if she looked that good she doubts she'd ever _stop_ taking pictures of herself. Instead, his profile pic was of a grand piano and his cover photo was of some stock image of night time scenery.

Strange to say the least. It looked like the profile of a technology inept 40 year old, not an attractive 16 year old. In fact, the only pictures of his face on his entire profile were the ones Blake had just tagged him in, all the others were artsy, aesthetic shots of skylines and architecture, the sort of stuff that would probably find more success on Instagram.

A weird feeling settles in her stomach the more she looks. Was it because she was being a stalker? No. It was only a bit of innocent snooping after all, she had only been curious! Maybe it was because Soul wasn't quite the annoying dudebro she'd painted in her head (at least not on Facebook). It was easier to think of the boy who had broken her heart as some douchebag rather than the awkward, shy boy she had once been friends with.

Now she was having doubts again.

Shutting down the page quickly, Maka moves away from her desk, choosing to settle down on her bed with her new book. But it was hard to concentrate now, something about his profile wouldn't stop nagging at her.

* * *

She should've known that Blake would see right through her excuses and he'd never been very good at just letting things lie. That's why Maka wasn't entirely shocked to see Soul being frogmarched into the Diner by said loud-mouth after 3 solid weeks of her brushing them off.

Even if it wasn't a complete surprise, Maka still wasn't ready for this. Maybe if she could just stay behind the counter she wouldn't have to interact with them? During the few weeks since Soul had come back to Death City Maka had become a master of deceit. She'd used every lie in the book to get out of each and every one of Blake's scheduled 'hang sessions' for the 3 of them, even managing to fake a sprained ankle and a sudden bout of the flu.

She hadn't even been able to go to the store in peace, having to dive into the fruit and veg isle at the first sign of blue or white hair. It was the one place she was sure neither of them would ever go.

It was only a matter of time before her luck ran out though.

"OI, PIGTAILS!" Blake bellowed "CAN WE GET SOME SERVICE OVER HERE?" he bangs his fist on the table, making the condiments rattle loudly. He was doing all this on purpose, his smug, self-satisfied smirk said it all.

Aw fuck.

"Just a minute! And be quiet, there's other customers than you, y'know!" she bristles, looking frantically around for her boss.

"Mira?" she calls, her heart pounding as she rises onto her tiptoes, trying to see through the hatch that went through to the kitchen.

Ox's face pops up instead and Maka has hold back a scream at the sudden appearance of his grouchy face. That last thing she needed was to have to deal with his annoying ass too!

"She's in the back and she's _busy_ " he says snidely, arms folded across his chest.

"Fine" Maka grits out. There goes that idea. If she went running into the back looking for Mira's help it would just make a scene and would properly make her look completely incompetent. She was a good waitress, damnit!

She could do this, _she could do this_. Just take their order, make some small talk and get out of there. It's just one table.

It was only Blake, it was only _Soul,_ for Christ's sake!

"AH! THERE YOU ARE! God, talk about crappy service!" Blake exclaims as she reaches their table. She tries to keep her gaze locked on him and not the man sat across from him. It was lucky that everyone in town knew that Blake had no concept of an 'inside voice' or he might've drove off customers.

"Oh shut it Blake, what do you want?" she asks, flicking to a clean page in her notebook.

"Cheese burger, fries, soda -" he lists on his stubby fingers

"It's 10am!" Maka says incredulously, his bizarre eating habits really shouldn't surprise her by this point.

"You're not my fuckin' mom, Nerdling!" his loud voice at this time in the morning is making her wince.

"No! But your mom is in the back right now, I wouldn't want her finding out about that order if I were you."

"FINE! Scrap the burger!" Blake huffs, throwing his hands up in defeat. Good. It seemed he was at least smart enough to remember not to cross Mira Nygus-Barret.

His expression turns from kicked puppy to spawn of Satan in approximately 0.2 seconds as he glances between her and his companion.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Blake says in what is meant to be an innocent tone "you and Soul haven't seen each since he got back!"

God did she wanna punch him.

"Don't take it personally, bro! Pigtails is _super_ busy" the way he says it makes it utterly apparent that he knew she'd been ditching them. To read books no less.

Maka glances over the table at the man in question, she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. It was a little easier to look at him after stalking him on Facebook because now, at least, she wasn't completely unprepared to see how well he'd turned out.

But the picture had only shown him from the neck up, it didn't show his broad shoulders, or the tanned arms. And his hands! She forgot what a sucker she'd been for his hands!

He glances up at her, elbows leaning on the table (who knew forearms could be so attractive?!) his mouth twists in a way that was meant to be a smile but just looks incredibly forced to her. He'd never really been good at pulling the wool over her eyes.

Minus their last encounter of course.

"Yeah, it's been a while" Maka acknowledges, pleased that her voice comes out (mostly) steady, even if her knees feel like jelly.

The last time they'd been face to face he'd kissed her.

"Yeah, hey" Soul grunts and _God_ is his voice deep, that's so not fair! His fingers drum quickly against the table, his gaze all over the place, as though he couldn't focus on her. It somewhat pleases her. At least he seems embarrassed about how he'd left things with her.

 _And so he should!_

"Here for the summer?" she asks a little tersely, she might as well gather Intel now that she's in this shit-show.

"Nah" he shakes his head "gonna finish school here and look after gran" he mumbles.

She felt like she was gonna puke. How was she meant to avoid him now?! She's never thought it a possibility that he'd be here permanently! God, she's gonna have to live on the fruit and veg isle, isn't she? It's the only way she'll be safe!

"He's gonna be at our high school, Maka! GREAT NEWS, RIGHT?" Blake grins wickedly, slapping her on the back, nearly knocking her into the table.

"Ouch, Blake! Don't do that!" she barks before clearing her throat, getting back to the job at hand. She's a professional, after all.

"Okay, so what would you like?" she asks Soul, not trusting herself to make any comment on his plans to stay in Death City. She'd probably end up saying something snarky, definitely something she would regret.

He had always wanted to come off as the cool guy, well, she'd show him how cool she could be!

She marches back the register once she'd jotted down their orders, giving the details to Ox before opening the door the supply cupboard. Throwing herself onto a wooden crate. She buries her face into her hands and lets out a muffled sound of anguish, kicking her heels into the box.

Okay, maybe she couldn't be cool. But he didn't need to know that!

* * *

Blake is sat on the curb outside the Diner when she leaves work several hours later. For a brief second it feels like she's gone back through time. Like she was 9 years old again. That she can just join Blake on the curb, count the cars that pass by, that they could play tick-tac-toe in chalk on the tarmac, maybe even jump on their bikes and head to the old Evans' farm to see if Soul could come and play.

Perhaps she'd worked too hard in this heat, maybe she needed to sit down.

"What're you still doing here?" she questions, slinging down her bag, neatly folding her skirt underneath her as she sits down beside him.

"Waiting for Mira" he snaps into life as he catches sight of her, smirk firmly in place "Sid's working late at the farm, soooo I'm in charge of getting her home!" he looks rather proud of himself, that his dad would actually give him responsibilities.

"Oh okay" she hums, not exactly sure why she'd decided to join him, her shift was over, she should be at home, relaxing with a nice book.

"HEY! What the fuck was that earlier?!" he asks after a few seconds of silence, turning his whole torso to look at her, green eyes squinting suspiciously.

"Oh my God, Blake, can you take it down a few octaves, please!" she hisses, jabbing a bony finger into his side, not wanting her business broadcast to the whole of Death City.

"FINE! FUCK, JUST DON'T JAB AT ME AGAIN, YOU'VE GOT FINGERS LIKE FUCKIN' SKELETOR!" Maka shoots him a withering glare. It's not quite up to Liz's standards but it's the best she can do.

"Fine!" he says, much quieter this time "what the fuck was that earlier?" he stage whispers.

"What do you mean?" she plays dumb. It's an oldie but a goodie.

"You and Soul? I've seen you talk to complete strangers better than you talked to him! What's your beef, Maka? I THOUGHT WE WERE ALL BROS!"

"Oh, _that_ " Maka sighs "I don't know, he's been gone for such a long time, things are bound to be awkward" she can't meet his eyes, not when she was constantly reminded of first kisses with his 'bestest bro'.

"It wasn't with me and him!" Blake insists.

"Well that's because you're great at filling silences" that was certainly one way of describing Blake's conversation style.

"I ain't that dumb Maka, you aren't that awkward with people, 'specially with people you already know. I SMELL BULLSHIT!" he tugs at her pigtails roughly.

"He was awkward too!" she protests, wrenching his hand away.

"HA! He's always like that!" Blake shakes his head "but you're not!"

"I can't explain it, Blake!" her hands flail around exasperatedly.

"Why? You wanna tap his ass or somethin'?" his eyebrows wiggle.

"NO!" she roars, smashing her face into her palms as he cackles, clutching his own stomach.

"Is this about your mom?" he sobers, wiping tears of mirth away with his index finger, tone suddenly more serious.

"No!" she groans, peaking at him through her fingers.

"Because he couldn't have known, Maka, don't go blamin' him for that shit. It was all just bad timing!"

" _Really_ bad timing" Maka mutters darkly "look, I don't blame him for that. It's not his fault about _that_. I just….I don't know, maybe I'm still a little mad about him disappearing on us". It was the truth, even if things ran a little deeper than her friend was aware of.

She remembers how distraught they'd both been when the emails stopped coming. It was the February after their last summer together when Soul stopped all contact. Blake had kept trying and trying to get some sort of response out of him, practically spamming him with questions but they never heard anything from Soul after that. When summer rolled around again they were to be informed by a rather sad looking Ruth Evans, that her grandson wouldn't be visiting that summer. He didn't come the following two summers either. It was like he just slid off the face of the earth.

"Well you're gonna have to work that shit out between yourselves because me and him, we're cool Maka, we're all good. I ain't gonna hold no grudges just 'cos he fucked up once when we were kids" Maka stares at him, mouth slightly agape. "But there's clearly still something stuck up your ass about it. So, you should just get it all out in the open!"

Of course Blake was fine about it. He probably just gave Soul a bit of a hard time, a few punches in the arm, a couple of taunts and they were all good. But Soul hadn't made any promises to Blake, he hadn't taken Blake's first kiss and ran off into the night (or at least she hoped not!).Blake hadn't had his heart broken the way she had.

"God, I can't believe you of all people are encouraging me to talk about my feelings" she mumbles, resting her cheek in her palm.

"Tsu's a great influence!" he looks a bit dreamy at the thought of his girlfriend, Maka has to stop herself from gaging.

"But seriously, he's staying and you're not going anywhere either" Maka tenses, NYU coming to mind "I wanna bring him into the group, Maka! But I can't do that if you've still got your panties all in a twist!"

He wants the best for the both of them, her and Soul. He's trying to look out for them in his own strange way. He's asking for her permission first though, because she's his 'oldest bro', his first friend. She knows that if she really didn't want Soul hanging around with them he'd listen, but she doesn't want to do that to him.

Because when all else in her life had crumbled away Blake had still been there. An unmoving presence in her life.

"I'll try and sort it, okay? Just stop yelling about my panties!" she gives in reluctantly "I can at least be civil, Blake. It's not like I'm gonna turn the Thompsons against him or anything either. He can hang out with the group if that's what he wants"

"Alright, cool!" he grins, seeming to relax at her words "ENOUGH OF THAT DOCTOR PHIL SHIT FOR TODAY!" he rolls his shoulders forward, making Maka wince when his joints pop.

"Agreed" she sighs.

"Hang around a bit longer and I'll give you a ride too!" he grips her shoulder roughly, jostling her in a way that was affectionate by his standards.

"Okay…thanks" she says, trying to hide her warm smile by biting the inside of her cheek. Because Blake Barret, for all his flaws, was a good friend. Probably her _best_ friend, even if it felt like he was gonna rip her shoulder off if he wasn't careful.

* * *

 _"Oh my God! They're so cute!" Maka squeals, bobbing up and down as she stood on the bars of the fence, leaning over to look the seven baby piglets, her pigtails dangling wildly._

 _"Yeah" Soul shrugs from inside their pen, filling their troth with fresh food "they were born the night I got here. A pretty good welcome home present"_

 _"You're so lucky, I wish I could keep one!" she sighs longingly, pink lips pursing into a pout._

 _Soul snorts, leaning against the fence from the other side "that's a stupid idea, have you seen how big they grow" he gestures to their mother who's fast asleep in the corner "you want that fat lump running around your house?"_

 _"Don't be rude!" she swats his arm "Bessie is beautiful! You leave her alone!"_

 _He did have a point though, her mama would kill her if she brought home a pig (even if it was the cutest thing she'd ever seen!) she doubts Blair would be too fond of it either._

 _"Whatever" he rolls his eyes._

 _Maka wants to hit him again because she hates his one word answers. But she finds herself distracted as he rakes his long fingers through his messy hair. Damnit, were her teenage hormones kicking in or something? She'd only just turned 13, wasn't it too soon to be getting this flustered over a boy?_

 _Soul was her friend! He wasn't someone she should be swooning over._

 _"Have you shown Blake yet?" she asks, dragging her eyes away from him and his stupidly pretty hands._

 _"Nope" Soul grins a little, dimples now visible, making a popping sound on the 'p' "you're the first one"_

 _He was making her head hurt. How dare he be this cute!_

 _"Really?" Maka beams at him, oblivious to the blush that was now creeping across Soul's cheeks._

 _"Yeah" he clears his throat a little "you can name one if you'd like"_

 _Maka bounces on her heals excitedly "oh my God, okay, hmmm" she peers into the pen, looking at each baby in turn "can I name that one?" she asks, pointing to the one in the back corner._

 _"Typical that you'd pick the runt" he shakes his head exasperatedly._

 _"Clearly I have a soft spot for the losers of the world. Why else would I hand out with you?" she smiles at him smugly, rather pleased with her come back._

 _"Oh haha, laugh it up, Maka" he grumbles "do you wanan name a baby or not?" he tries to play it off but Maka knows the comment has him irked._

 _"Fine" she sticks out her tongue at him "okay ummmm" she ponders, chewing on her bottom lip as she watches the piglet snuffle its snout into the hay._

 _"Ah, I've got it! Crona!"_

 _"Crona" Soul deadpans, giving her a flat look "what kinda name is Crona?"_

 _"It's a perfectly good name!"_

 _"God, you Death children are into some strange shit!" he smirks, resting his forearms on the top of the gate._

 _"Like Soul is any better"_

 _"My name is cool!" he defends, puffing out his cheeks._

 _"You keep telling yourself that" she smiles sickly sweet, patting the top of his head patronisingly._

 _"Piss off" he grunts moodily, waving her hands away._

 _"Don't swear, Soul! I'll tell your gran!" she threatens, tugging at a tuft of his hair_

 _"Like hell you will!" he reaches through the bars, attacking her sides, manging to hit all the ticklish spots on her ribs and belly._

 _"No! No! SOUL!" she squawks, half screaming, half laughing as her feet slip off the gate, making her land on her butt onto the dusty ground with an 'ooft'._

 _"Tch," he snorts "dork" but still climbs over the fence to tug her back to her feet._


	2. Chapter 2

Here we are! Chapter two (finally!)

Disclaimer: not mine

* * *

"Marie? What's up?" Maka answers her phone from the supply closest of the Diner, kicking the mop bucket back into the corner with her foot, wincing a little as some of the water sloshes over the side, wetting her shoe.

"I know this is a lot to ask" Marie sounds a little frazzled "but would you be able to take Frank some lunch? He's booked up with appointments and I've got a sonogram I should be getting to…" the older women frets and Maka can practically see her bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet.

"No, its fine, Marie, I'll just take him something from the Diner. It's no biggie!" she glances down at her watch, she only has 37 minutes left of this shift anyway.

"Thank you so much! You're an absolute angel!"

That's how Maka finds herself walking into the centre of town that afternoon, a brown paper bag full of sandwiches (curtesy or Mira) clutched in one hand, as beads of sweat roll down the back of her neck, her damp sock squelching as she goes.

God, does she miss her car! Then she wouldn't have to walk everywhere in this scorching heat.

The parking lot is packed when she finally makes it to the medical practise, and Maka can't help but feel sorry for Frank. It can't be easy for him, being the only doctor left in Death City. Even if their population is small, there is always going to be a high demand for medical assistance, especially when the majority of residents are over 40.

Maka is met by the miracle that is air-con the moment she steps inside, dodging her way through the crowded waiting room (which is really just a small hallway, with a row of chairs against each wall) having to navigate her way through the sea of old ladies' handbags that clutter the floor, as she makes her way to the front desk.

"Uh, hi" she greets Stein's rather stern receptionist, tearing the woman away from her aggressive typing "Marie asked me to bring some lunch over for Doctor Stein" she explains, holding up the bag as proof.

Azusa pushes her glasses up her nose, regarding Maka for a few seconds before pointing down the hall. "He's with someone right now, but you can give it to him once he's free" she says, returning to her computer.

Maka nods, making her way towards Stein's office. She knows the building well, has spent hours here growing up. Having to walk past her mama's old office is still hard for her though. She supposes her mother's departure impacted the town greatly too. It certainly put a lot more pressure on her Godfather. He doesn't even have Marie to help out anymore, not since she's gone on maternity leave.

Someone is already waiting outside Stein's office as she approaches, probably waiting for a relative. She doesn't think much of it, not until she catches sight of carefully styled white hair.

 _No_. Nope. Why?! Why was this happening to her? She was a good person, right? She didn't deserve this!

Maka wants to turn on her heals and run but he's already spotted her, glancing up, earphones firmly in place, staring at her and looking just as panicked as she feels. Maka realises that she's just stopped dead in the middle of the hallway. Shit, now he knows she's freaking out.

 _Not cool_ , a voice that sounds suspiciously like a 13 year old Soul, taunts her from some far off corner of her brain.

 _'Its fine, it'll be okay'_ she tells herself.

This is _her_ mama's practise, after all. It's _her_ Godfather's office he's stood outside. _This is her town!_ And she has every right to go wherever she wants, and Soul (no matter what may or not have happened between them) would not scare her off!

Pulling her shoulders back, she marches closer to the door, passing Soul in the process. Wow had he gotten tall. Even as he slouches against the wall, she can see how much bigger he is than her, practically dwarfing her these days. Puffing out her cheeks, she turns her focus back to the task in hand, reaching out to rap on the door.

"There's someone in there" he informs her, face impassive but his voice is more than a little strained. He's always been this way, Soul has always had a killer poker-face, but the tone of his voice is one thing he seems yet to master.

Ah right, she'd forgotten that he was with a patient.

"Oh" she says a little stiffly "I'll just wait then" she attempts to shrug nonchalantly, but it's more like a sudden upwards jerking of her shoulders, it kinda stings afterwards if she's honest. Maka moves to lean on the opposite side of the door to Soul, paper bag still clutched tightly in her hand.

 _Hurry up, hurry up, Frank, please!_

"You in next or somethin'?" he asks after about 30 seconds of silence, Maka chances a look over and realises he's removed his earphones, letting them dangle loosely around his neck. He isn't looking at her though, instead he appears to be analysing the artwork the neighbourhood kids have drawn over the years, decorating the dreary walls.

Surprisingly, it irritates her. He could at least face her, after the shit he's pulled.

"No" she shakes her head "just taking him some lunch" she replies simply.

"Ah" is his only response.

A couple more minutes pass before Maka breaks the silence again, because, at the end of the day, she _did_ promise Blake that she could be civil and _she could!_ Maka would leave her petty grudges aside for Blake.

She owes him that at least.

"Why're you here?" she questions, not meaning to sound so harsh "you here for an appointment?" she adds quickly, painting on a fake smile, trying to seem more friendly. Maybe she couldn't be civil…

"Nah" he shakes his head, actually managing to look at her face for 3 whole seconds, Maka exhales, relaxing a fraction. It's a lot less awkward when they can actually look in each other's direction. "Gran's in there, I'm just waitin for her"

"Oh" that makes more sense. He looks in perfect condition to her. Her eyes graze over the length of his body, his flannel shirt that is a tad too tight across his broad shoulders, but he looks _good,_ black skinny jeans and rather tatty converse included. She really hates that he was still 100% her type.

Does she really have a type? It's hard to tell, she's only ever been interested in one person growing up. There's only ever been Soul.

"Mhmm, the Doc says she can't drive anymore, her eyes are too bad, so I gotta drive her around"

"That explains why I haven't seen her in a while" the Evans' farm is further afield than any of the other houses in Death City, it would be a long way for Ruth Evans to have to walk into centre of town regularly.

They fall back into silence, neither seeming to know how to talk to each other anymore. It's a little sad for Maka, they had once been the sort of friends that didn't even need to fill spaces with words. They used to just sit for ages together in her backyard, without it been uncomfortable in the least. Times have really changed.

"Maka-" he starts again, just as the door cracks open, his voice getting lost in the sound, to the point where she isn't really sure if he's actually spoken, or if it was just her imagination.

It's probably just wishful thinking.

Ruth Evans shuffles out, looking just as Maka remembers her, all fluffy white hair (the exact same colour as her grandson's) and glasses perched on the very end of her button nose. She's decked in her typical vibrant floral dress, nails still perfectly painted. Maka can't help but wonder if Soul had to paint them for her, if her eyesight wasn't so great these days. The thought brings an amused smile to her face.

"Ready Gran?" Soul asks, straightening up and stepping away from the wall.

"As I'll ever be" she mumbles darkly, it isn't hard to see where Soul gets a lot of his mannerisms from. "Where are my keys?" she huffs, beginning to root around in her large, floral handbag.

"I've got them" Soul sighs, looking at bit exasperated, as her purse snaps shuts.

"Well pass them here then!" she insists, holding out a wrinkled palm. She has such an air of authority about her that Maka is impressed that Soul doesn't just hand them right over, then and there.

"You can't drive anymore, Gran!" he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Bunch of garbage, that is!" she purses her lips and Maka can't help but chuckle softly. Whilst Ruth's eyesight may by going, her hearing certainly isn't. She whirls around at the sound, pushing her glasses up closer to her eyes, as she looks up at Maka.

"Ah Maka!" she greets, looking rather surprised. Maka supposes that it must be a little shocking, considering she's grown at least a foot since the last time they met.

"It's been a while, look at you" she smiles, dark eyes warm and crinkled at the edges, as she looks her up and down "who'd have known what a pretty thing you'd turn out to be!"

Maka smiles gently, not knowing whether to take that as a compliment or not. Was she an ugly kid or something?

"Gran!" Soul sighs again, looking every inch like an inpatient child "We should really go now"

"Okay, okay, calm yourself" Ruth rolls her eyes "It was nice to see you Maka, I hope to see you at the farm more often, now that Soul's home, you're always welcome"

"I-er- thank you, Mrs Evans. That would be nice" she forces a smile, glancing over at Soul who is looking rather fidgety. It's awkward when everyone expects them to be best friends again. Everyone else seems to be forming plans _for_ them. But it was impossible to follow through with the way they left things. With the way _he_ left things, she corrects.

"Come on, Gran" Soul urges, tugging lightly on her elbow, giving Maka an apologetic look before leading his grandmother away. It's almost comical, seeing how tiny Ruth is in comparison to him, him having to stoop slightly in order to link arms with her. It's clear that the affection is still there though, he's still a 100%, bona-fide, grandma's boy.

It's getting really hard to hold grudges against him, especially when he keeps acting like the same boy who left 3 years ago.

"Maka?" Stein calls questioningly from the doorway, making her jump nearly six feet in the air, before she practically crushes the bag of sandwiches against his chest, mumbling out a quick explanation.

Crap, the door had been open. How much had he seen?

Frank seems oblivious enough though, as he begins rooting through the bag. Good, she doesn't want anything getting back to her papa. The last thing she needs is Spirit poking his nose into the situation between her and Soul.

Everyone else was already doing a fine job of that.

* * *

Loud cursing is coming from the kitchen when she finally makes it home, panting hard and sweating. She's pretty sure that she has the world's biggest pit-stains from walking all the way home.

"Papa?" she calls, voice sceptical. It's rare for Spirit to make it home from work at this time, even if the crime rates in Death City are incredibly low, he is usually still busy with paper work for the majority of the evening. It's even weirder to know that he must've come straight home, not calling in at any bars or visiting any of his 'friends'.

"Maka! Sweetie!" he calls back excitedly from the kitchen. She follows his voice, brows furrowing as she sees the mess the place is in. Unevenly chopped vegetables littering the countertops, sink full of pots and pans and, what look like blood but must be tomato sauce, splattered across the tiled floor.

"What's going on?" she asks slowly, wondering if she's somehow entered the Twilight Zone.

"I'm making you a nice, home-cooked meal, sweetness!" he beams warmly at her. Her papa has a talent for making you feel like you are the most important person in the world, for a few minutes anyway, before he moves onto someone else. She thinks her papa's charm is part of why her mama forgave him so many times.

"But you can't cook" her frown deepens, and she's utterly befuddled.

"Oh, well this isn't hard! I found a recipe on the internet so it's easy, really! It's not gonna be ready for a while but…" he glances around, looking a little frantic "it should be worth the wait! And I was thinking, maybe, after we've eaten, we could watch the new Star Wars movie together!"

Ah, so that's what this is. He's trying to make up for his absence the last couple of weeks. Part of her wants to shut this down, to shut _him_ out. It reminds her way too much of his relationship with mama - the absences, the lies, the presents, the grovelling.

But another part of her remembers how they used have Star Wars marathons of Sundays, just the two of them. How she'd sit on his lap and they'd laugh at the prequels and enjoy the originals, and how his large hands would make clumsy, Leia-style buns out of her pigtails whilst they watched.

She'd loved those days with her papa, and maybe, they could have them again. The hopeful look on his face makes her decision for her. Her papa really wasn't completely bad.

"Well, we've haven't watched it together yet…" she shrugs, smiling tentatively as his whole face lights up.

"Okay- Yeah! Great!" he trips over his words "I'll call you when dinners ready then, okay Sweetness?"

"New guy's cute" Liz smirks over the rim of her glass.

"What?" Maka's head snaps up from the other side of Kid's kitchen, where she'd been pouring herself a drink.

Liz chuckles, flipping a loose braid over her shoulder "don't play dumb Maka, I'm talking about Soul. He's hot"

"I'm not playing dumb" her lips purse "I suppose he's okay. If you like that sort of thing" she mumbles, shoving her drink against the ice machine, a little too aggressively, sending a few stray ice-cubes clattering against the floor.

"What? If I like hot people? Yeah I do" Maka's knuckles are white from how hard she's gripping her glass. She tries to keep her expression neutral though, as she turns to face Liz.

"But still, I don't think I'll go there" Liz ponders, glancing outside as Blake and Patty run past the patio doors, screaming like banshees, causing havoc with their super soakers.

"Why?" Maka blurts, because Soul should be a textbook example of 'Liz's type'.

They'd certainly make a good looking couple, Liz is so beautiful, all tan skin and silky hair, and Soul is just _wow_. Plus, they both like music, Maka has never been good with music…

The idea of them dating makes her want to punch something. Soul is her ex (kinda-ish) and the idea of her friend dating him doesn't sit well with her. She'd try to be happy though, if she had to, for Liz's sake.

Liz shrugs, fingers tracing lazily around the top of her glass "he's always looking at your legs"

"WHAT?!" Maka balks, astounded rather than appalled, she should be appalled, right?

"Yeah!" Liz's answers, as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world. "Every time you walk past him, his eyes always trail down to your legs. God, you're so oblivious!" she shakes her head, smiling fondly.

"You best not be lying Liz…" Maka's eyes narrow, attempting to disguise how flustered she is with annoyance. She's never thought her legs were anything special, only that they were probably more appealing than her boobs.

"I'm not, I wouldn't lie about something like this! Boy's a total leg-guy" she defends and Maka believes her, Liz usually says it how it is. "Did something happen between you two?" her expression turns more serious, voice quieter. There's something dangerous glinting in her blue eyes as she leans across the breakfast bar like a panther.

"What makes you say that?" she tries to sound incredulous, tries to sound as though Soul never meant a thing to her. It's much harder than she thought it would be.

"I don't know, you two act weird around each other. You barely talk when he's around. I thought you guys were friends but you're not yourself when he's there" Liz frowns, clearly she's cornered about her.

"Did he do something, Maka? 'Cos I'll kick his ass -"

"No!" Maka shakes her head firmly, Liz raises a shapely eyebrow in disbelief. "Nothing like that anyway" and she feels stupid that his broken promise still gets to her, still affects her behaviour. Because it _was_ just a silly childish promise, yet, she's still so butthurt, it's frustrating.

"I had a crush but that was it!" it's partly true, she isn't a shitty friend if it's only a half lie, right?

"I thought something must have gone on" Liz bites her lip in thought, Liz is a lot more perspective than Maka gives her credit for it seems. "Is that all though? When you guys talk….it's so awkward, it's painful"

"I don't know what to tell you" Maka shrugs, because she's done talking about it now, not willing to delve any deeper.

Liz seems to get the message. Although she enjoys finding out all the latest gossip, Liz isn't one to push too far, not if it'll make people uncomfortable.

"I better go make sure Patty is okay, I don't care what happens to Blake, but if she slips and cracks her head open I'll be pissed" she jokes darkly, sliding down gracefully from her place on the barstool, cracking open the patio doors.

Liz offers a quick smile of farewell and then she's gone, leaving Maka alone in the kitchen with her thoughts.

She needs to let this go. For the sake of the group, for Blake, for _herself._ No matter what she says, it's clear that she _isn't_ over it, probably isn't over Soul in general. Isn't over how he abandoned her mere weeks before mama left. Because losing two people you love, one after the other, does something to you. She at least knows why mama left, she has no idea what Soul's reasons are. Maybe that's why the wound has never truly healed.

Instead, she's been left to concoct her own reasons for his leaving, ones that fed into all her deepest fears.

It's one of the rare occasions where Blake is right. They need to get this all out in the open. No more avoiding each other, no more avoiding the truth. She needs to know why, even if it hurts her. It's got to be better than this, surely. She's a big girl now, she's stronger than she was 3 years ago. Whatever had kept Soul away from Death City in the past, she could handle it.

* * *

"What time is iiiiiiiiiiiiiiit?" Blake whines, resting his ridiculously toned forearms on the side of the pool.

"6:05pm, it won't be ready yet" Maka drawls from her sun lounger, where she's been sat reading for the last 45 minutes or so.

"But I'm hungry now!" Blake groans loudly, making noises that resemble a drowning bear.

"Same!" Patty agrees, using her hands to paddle herself around in circles, as she lays across her inflatable donut.

"PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!" Blake begins chanting, slapping his palm loudly onto the pool's tiled edge.

"PIAZZ! PIZZA!" Patty joins in, pumping a fist into the air.

"I suppose I could set off for it" Soul lets out a longsuffering sigh, pulling his legs out of the water, where they'd previously been dangling "I seriously doubt that it'll be ready though" he grumbles, grabbing his shirt from where it had been carelessly dissuaded on a deck chair, dragging it over his head.

"ATTA BOY, SOUL!" Blake grins so widely it looks painful.

"SOUL! SOUL! SOUL!" Patty chants happily, spinning herself so quickly that it's making Maka dizzy just watching her.

There's the slightest smile on Soul's face and it makes Maka's stomach plummet in realisation. He's happy here, _with them_ , he's feeling like he's been accepted.

The thoughts crosses her mind just as she hears his wet footsteps next to her.

"I'll show you out" she's saying before she can stop herself, pulling off her sunglasses and clambering off of the lounger. Everyone seems to stop, it feels like everyone's starting at her as she makes her way towards him, her legs suddenly feel wobbly. Liz, it seems, isn't the only one who's noticed how awkward things are between them. Soul looks the most surprised of all, his lips parted and eyes wide.

She brushes it all off, she'd promised Blake she'd end this shit.

"Okay?" he says, mouth snapping shut, his jaw becoming tense as he follows her through the patio doors.

It's easy to get lost in Kid's house. It's so full of minimalistic decor and winding corridors that all look the same. Showing him out was probably a good idea, even if it is just a ploy so they can talk.

Zero chit-chat is made as they walk through the house, Maka a little ways ahead of him, their bare feet echoing against the marbled floor. Maka braces herself as they go, almost feeling as if she's about to ambush him.

"Soul-" she says once they're far enough out of ear shot.

"Hey-" he begins almost at the same time, and they stare at each other like idiots for a few seconds.

"You go first" she waves her hand in his direction, they might as well get what he wants to say out of the way, she doubts he'll have a chance after she's asked her questions.

"Uh, I just wanted to ask if we could talk?" he runs a hand through his hair, pushing damp bangs away from his forehead. It shouldn't distract her but, then again, Soul does a lot of perfectly normal things that are enough to make her brain go fuzzy.

"Oh….sure." She blinks, taken aback entirely. She hadn't expected him to want to talk to her, she thought she'd have to confront him to get any kind of explanation. _He's_ the one who's been too chicken to face her for 3 years, after all.

Even if she's not the one starting the conversation, they're still gonna talk which _is_ what she wants. She kinda wishes she'd suggested it first though, taken control of the situation. It all feels a little out of her hands now.

They're outside Kid's dad's office, the door wide open, it was part of the reason she'd chose here and now to spring the question on him. It seems like a good place to get this all out in the open. Kid's dad is out of town and she doubts he'd mind them using it.

"Shall we?" she gestures to the room behind her. Maka feels more conflicted now, more nervous and on edge. Even though she's planned this all in her head (albeit unconsciously) since Soul came back to town. Even though she knows what she wants to ask, she still feels as though she's been thrown off kilter. Why had she let him beat her to the punch?

Deep breaths. She'll listen to his half-hearted apology and they'll move on. She'll let it go. It's all going to be fine.

"Yeah, 'course" he nods, jamming his hands into the pockets of his shorts and she finds herself relieved that he put a shirt on before they began this. She's pretty sure she'd completely loose her cool if she had to stare at his bare chest throughout the entire conversation.

He follows her inside the office, shutting the door behind them. He doesn't want to be overheard either. Maka can't really blame him, if Blake found out about him kissing her then ditching her, he'd probably break his legs. Bro or no bro, Maka knows Blake would have her back in this.

She leans against the large mahogany desk near the centre of the room, glancing around at the walls lined with books and executive toys. It's a complete balance of business and whimsy, it perfectly suits Kid's dad. He even has a bowl of candy on his desk for visitors. Maka has to hide a smile of affection as she glances over at the boy/man across from her.

"Sooo" he drew out the word, eyes jumping all over the place, fixing on her every once in a while before flitting away. He's nervous, embarrassed maybe. _Good._

"So" she parrots, head tilting to the side slightly "is this to clear the air?"

"Pretty much, yeah" he shrugs, looking rather helpless.

"Look, I promised Blake that we'd sort things between us and we will, right here, right now. No more avoiding each other, no more pretending nothing happened."

"That's what I want as well. I promised him too"

Ah, so his promises were actually worth something these days? She can't help but be bitter.

His Adam's apple bobs and Maka has to tear her eyes away, keeping her mind focused on what she's planned to say instead, relieved that he isn't opposed to letting her take over the conversation.

"I get that we were kids and all, but I wish you could've just told me. I could've handled it. I wasn't fragile then and I'm definitely not now. Everything would've been a lot easier if you'd just said you weren't interested in me"

"Wait, what?" he blinks, brows knitting together.

Maka exhales through her nose, irritation growing "I know…I know that we kissed" she grits out, heat rising to her face "but I could've taken it if you'd just told me you wanted to stay friends, you didn't have to cut me out. You certainly didn't have to cut Blake out-"

"Maka, you don't get it" he ceases her rambling, hand flying out of his pocket to rub at the back of his neck roughly. "It wasn't that I didn't like you, shit Maka! I liked you a lot! _I_ kissed _you_ for Christ's sake!" he starts pacing back and forth, and Maka is almost alarmed by how much he seems to be struggling with this "I know it was shitty of me to not explain things but I didn't know how to go about it"

"What're you talking about?" it's her turn to be confused, _and boy_ , is she confused. She'd not expected him to deny her accusations. Hadn't he done what all men did? Just used her and then left? Had mama been wrong about him?

"I didn't stay away because I didn't like you, I wanted to come back, _badly._ But I was messed up. I -" he falters " I don't know how it explain it" he runs a hand over his face, his frustration evident.

"Just- - _just try_ , Soul. I need to know why" she needs to know why he'd hurt her.

"My parents want a lot from me" he murmurs, his shoulders hunched over, it feels as though the words are being dragged out of him. "I always knew they wanted me to be something great, but after I left that summer, it was like all that pressure doubled"

She's never heard him talk about his parents before and she'd known him since they were 7. It's obvious to her now why he'd never uttered a word about them before. Talking about it is clearly a tough subject for him.

"I couldn't take it. I know that they wanted the best for me but I can't live up to their legacy. I can't play like dad or Wes" it's like he physically deflates right in front of her "In the end it was like something went wrong in my head" he wraps his knuckles against his head roughly and Maka wants to drag his hand away, hold onto it tightly, so he can't do it again "I wasn't _well_ , Maka….that's why I didn't come back".

"You were-" her heart is pounding so fast she can feel it in her throat. She feels terrible, absolutely awful, because she'd thought so little of him all this time. She should've trusted her instincts, should've known that Soul wouldn't treat her badly, not if he could help it. Now she understands, and the truth is more heart breaking than any rejection.

"Depression sucks, Maka" he laughs weakly, shoulder's still curled forward, as if he's about to fold in on himself "I didn't know what to tell you guys, I didn't even know what was wrong with me for ages. Some days it was like I couldn't physically move, I didn't wanna eat, all I did was sleep. I was just permanently exhausted. I kept putting off telling you guys, I wanted to explain myself but, I guess, I was too embarrassed about it all"

"Soul…" she whispers, she wants to wrap her arms around him, wants to pull him against her and reassure him. Wipe away all his doubts until there are none left. Because he hasn't changed at all, not really, he's still that boy she'd been so close to, still the guy who'd had her back almost her entire childhood.

"Before I knew it, a month had passed since I'd talked to you, and then another month and another. By then, it just seemed too late to fix things. I didn't want to face you after that. I felt like such a piece of shit"

"You've got nothing to be ashamed of Soul!" her throat feels raw from holding back her emotion " _I didn't know, Soul_. If I'd known I wouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I thought you hated me! I thought you'd left because of me"

"I wouldn't, Maka" he states firmly "God, you were one of the only friends I've ever had, I wanted to come back to Death City that summer, but I thought I'd already fucked up too badly with you and 'Star. And I was still such a _mess_. I didn't wanna face you or Blake or Gran, not like that"

"You don't have to explain anymore, Soul" she grips the edge of the desk tightly, knuckles turning white.

"But I do, fuck Maka! If I'd known about your mom, I would've made myself go, I would've been there"

"You couldn't have known" she can feel her eyes stinging "me and papa didn't even see it coming. It's not your fault. _I'm_ sorry"

She regrets every bad thought she's ever had about him since he'd left, hates how she let her doubts change her perception of who he was. Her friend, her first love, the guy who'd helped her through all her parent's fights.

"I wish I'd told you 3 years ago. It would've made things so much easier, I could've faced you sooner. I was so embarrassed when I came back because _I promised"_

Maka knows instantly what he's talking about, she's practically transported back to the scene, of the two of them on her front porch, can almost feel the summer breeze against her skin.

"Don't worry about that dumb old promise, Soul" she shakes her head firmly, pigtails flailing "you're back now, that's what matter. Are you- are you okay now?"

It feels like a stupid question.

"I'm okay, Maka" he gives her a half smile "got my meds, I go to therapy if I need to. I'm fine now, Maka." He assures her but it doesn't stop the tears from gathering "H-hey don't cry!" he panics, stumbling towards her, gripping her shoulder's hesitantly.

"Sorry! I just feel so bad" she sniffs loudly, wiping at her eyes "I've thought such terrible stuff of you, all this time!"

"Don't cry over me, idiot" he sighs gently, giving her a rare, genuine, Soul Evans smileTM " _I'm_ _fine_ "

Maka grips his arms gently, forehead resting against his collar bone. They're in a sort of strange, pseudo hug, but it seems to be working in terms of calming them both.

"And stop saying sorry, shit Maka. It's okay" he scolds half-heartedly.

"Can we- Can we be friends again?" she sniffles, tightening her grip, practically clinging to him a little desperately. It's like she can finally let herself feel how much she's missed him.

"Yeah" he exhales softly and she can hear the relief in his voice "God, yeah. I've missed having you around, who else 's gonna keep me in line, huh?"

She laughs wetly and, despite all the tears, she feels better, so much better. Like 3 years' worth of heart ache is finally over. And she has Blake, of all people, to thank for helping her get Soul back.

* * *

Soul looks uncertain as he waits for his turn and Maka has to hold back her giggles. She needs to remember that he didn't grow up the way they did, so it's not fair to laugh really. She's not sure how he grew up, to be honest, other than it's unlikely that rich, talented, classical music star Adrian Evans ever took his children bowling.

"Why didn't we bring you here before?" Blake grins at Soul's nervousness, slapping him on the back so hard that he almost chokes on his soda.

"Maybe because we couldn't drive when were 13" Soul deadpans, shrugging off Blake's grip, rolling his injured shoulder as he places his drink aside.

"Oh yeah!" Blake hums in consideration, rubbing his chin, he really does remind her of a monkey sometimes. "Fair point" he nudges Soul in the ribs this time, Maka doesn't envy these displays of 'brotherly love' in the least.

"FUCK YEAH! TSU GOT A SPARE!" he whoops, head spinning around at the sound of clattering pins. Abandoning them (before he can bruise Soul any further) running over to congratulate his girlfriend, seizing her around the waist, lifting her up into the air.

Tsubaki looks embarrassed but Maka can see the slightly pleased smile tugging at the edges of lips. It's then that she notices that Blake has one hand on Tsubaki's butt. Ah yes, she'd almost forgot what a closet perv her friend is, that explains why she hasn't murdered Blake, she's probably kinda enjoying the PDA.

"How the fuck did he manage to get her?" Soul shakes his head, looking at the pair in disbelief. They are an odd couple to say the least. Tsubaki - soft spoken, gentle and beautiful, Blake - loud, obnoxious and built like a small tank.

"It's a mystery to us all" Maka shrugs "Tsubaki has always seen the best in everyone and Blake isn't so bad…Sometimes" and he can handle her weird kinks…but the less she dwells on that the better.

Soul snorts and it brings colour straight to her cheeks. It shouldn't, her feelings shouldn't just pick up from where they left off. They're meant to be friends again, starting out anew, putting all the bitterness and misunderstanding behind them _, putting that kiss behind them._ In other words, she shouldn't enjoy making him laugh this much.

But it's not something she can really help, it's kinda always been there, the invisible force that seems to pull her towards him.

"We wouldn't be friends with him if he was a complete hopeless case, I 'spose" he shrugs "I kinda missed him, 'Star has a talent for keepin' you out of your own head, usually 'cos if you take your focus off of him for 2 seconds he'll have done somethin' insane….or illegal"

She almost feels jealous of how he talks about Blake. He had been Soul's first friend here after all, long before she and he ever met. It's funny, in the past she'd been so jealous of Soul, scared he'd steel her childhood friend away from her.

"He's certainly a unique snowflake" she says dryly, Soul meets her eyes, grin widening, and damn, there were those dimples again. She really needs to remember that they're there, she doesn't think her heart can take another surprise attack.

"Soul! You're up!" Patty calls, jumping up and down as she gestures towards the screen above, clearly anxious to get everyone else's turn out of the way, so she could have another go.

"Wish me luck" his smile is gone now, he walks towards the bowling lane like a man walking to his death.

 _Drama King_.

Maka rolls her eyes, sitting down next to Tsubaki on the bench, peering over the older girl's shoulder as she watches Soul make his first ever attempt at bowling. It's a gutter ball, and he's pouting when he turns back around, Blake's cackling laughter probably does help his ego much either.

"OH MY GOD! AHAHA MAYBE WE SHOUDA ASKED TO HAVE THE BUMPERS DOWN FOR YOU!"

Soul bares his sharp teeth at him, stomping over to get another ball. He manages to get two pins this time and Tsubaki claps, smiling encouragingly, as if he were a small child.

"You did good!" Tsu informs him as he slumps back down beside Maka on the bench, giving only a grunt in reply.

"You didn't do _that_ bad" she attempts to console, but his bottom lip is still very much stuck out.

"Whatever, it's just a stupid game. I don't care" he mumbles, jamming his hands into his pockets and Maka gets the firm impression that he certainly _does_ care.

"You'll pick it up, you're good with your fingers" she assures him, only realising what she's said after his stares at her unblinkingly for a few seconds. Oh shit. "I mean you're a pianists, aren't you?" she says defensively, face feeling heated.

He snorts again, rolling his eyes, but there's a half-smile there, as if amused by her ridiculousness. Oh well, at least he's cheered up a little, even if it's at her expense.

"COME ON KID!" Liz calls through cupped hands as Kid stands at the apex of the ally, about to make his first move. It comes as no surprise that he gets a strike on his first go. Kid has been kicking their asses for years, maybe they should stop inviting him? It would be mean, but maybe then, someone else to have a chance at winning.

Soul whistles long and low next to her "maybe I should be askin' him for tips"

"What's wrong with my advice?" Maka bristles, leaning closer.

"Nothin'" his lips curve at the corners "just that you're only 2 points ahead of me" he just his chin towards the screen.

"Oh shut up, Soul! You don't know how bowling works!"

"Really? I'm pretty sure that the person with the highest score wins"

"Wipe that smirk off you face, Evans" she hisses, jabbing at his ribs with her bony elbow.

"Jesus" he wheezes, probably still bruised from Blake's 'affectionate behaviour' earlier "stop cheatin'" he bats her hands away.

"I'm not cheating!"

"You're try to injure me!"

"I really doubt it'll impact your performance too much" she rolls her eyes, leaning back in her seat.

He opens his mouth to retort, but suddenly, Liz is snapping her fingers in front of them, leaning over the bench to get their attention

"Head in the game, Maka! You're up!" Maka feels slightly scandalized when Liz winks at her, perfectly painted lips curled into a knowing smirk.

Damnit, she swears that Liz and her perception skills are gonna be the death of her.

* * *

The next few weeks go by in a blur. Maka hasn't enjoyed summer this much since she was a kid, even if she still has to put in the occasional shift at the Diner.

Their group seems complete now that Soul is back and he's settled in well, all things considered, even finding common ground with the Thompsons, who tended to be a little intimidating at first. It was nice to have everybody getting along and having a good time.

Hell, Maka is having so much fun that she's even managed to put her worries about her future to one side, despite her mama's constant questions over the phone. Things with her papa are going better too, now that he was around more, and they found themselves at Frank and Marie's house most nights, as Marie's due date grew ever closer.

A lot of the time it feels like nothing has changed, even though Liz and Patty are a part of their group now, even if her mama isn't around anymore, it feels like no time has passed. It was like they were 13 again. Blake certainly acted like it.

Maka could almost forget about all the pain she went through with her parent's split. Finding that she doesn't feel quite so heartbroken as she used to, when her mama's promises to visit fall through (again).

Maybe this is what healing feels like?

It even seems like she'll be able to get herself a decent ride, after spending the last couple of months carless. All those shifts at the Diner had finally paid off!

"What do you think?" Soul asks her, forearms lent on the open window of the truck, his face impassive as she examines the dashboard from her place in the driver's seat.

"It looks good, perfect in fact! For what I need anyway, I'm sick of having to get lifts off everyone" she sighs happily, placing her hands on the steering wheel. The faded blue truck is bigger than anything she's driven before but she's a good driver, she could handle it.

"Does it have air-con?"

"Ah" Soul scowls a little, rubbing the back of his neck. Could he really stop wearing plaid? It looked _way_ too good on him. "It _did_ but Blake broke it. I can fix it though, I mean, it's not quite ready for sale yet anyway"

"Okay" Maka hums. She trusts his ability, he's fixed the beaten-up old truck well enough so far, actually managing to make it drivable. A pretty amazing feat considering that the old thing has been rusting on the Evans' property for as long as she can remember.

"I call dibs then"

Soul snorts "you can't call dibs, I'm the one selling it, I choose who gets it"

"But you showed it to me!"

"Yeah, that doesn't mean you're my choice. I mean, Liz doesn't have a car, right?" he smirks and Maka grabs the door handle, shoving it open roughly, watching him wince as the door slams into his torso.

"Jerk" she huffs, puffing out her cheeks.

"Fuck!" he wheezes, rubbings at his chest "Jesus, woman! I was jokin'. It's yours the second it's road worthy, promise!"

"Good" Maka says haughtily, holding out her hand in offering "shake on it"

He looks at her for a seconds, before begrudgingly taking her hand in his, gripping it firmly, surprising her with how calloused his fingers are.

"There, we have a deal. Happy?"

"Very" Maka grins, feeling proud that she's managed to earn the money all by herself. It was a great deal really, Soul and Ruth are selling the truck at an extremely low price and she doubts that she'll be able to afford any vehicle that didn't come with a friends/family discount.

"S'pose I better find myself a new project now"

"You've already got the whole farm as your project" she rolls her eyes, leaning her back against the hot metal of the truck, feeling very grateful for her shorts and cami on such a warm day.

"Yeah, but the truck was easier and cooler, and I don't end up with pig shit on my shoes when I've been working on it"

"Wait! You still have the pigs?!" she asks, her voice giving away her enthusiasm, leaning away from the car door.

"Uh, yeah, pigs live longer than 3 years Maka" God, did he always have to be so sarcastic!

"Shut up! Where are they? Can I see them?"

"Sure, I mean, they're not that exciting, they kinda just lay there -"

"I don't care, c'mon" she says, tugging on his sleeve, fixing him with the puppy-dog eyes. It's underhanded but, sometimes, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

"Alright, gimme a minute. Get in the truck" he gives in, shaking her grip off lightly, before going around to the bed of the truck. Maka could hear him moving things around in the back and a loud clatter as something heavy is loaded inside, probably pig feed.

"Passenger's seat!" he calls to her the second she opens the driver's door, not even having to look up to know where she is planning on sitting.

"Why?" she whines.

"'Cos you don't know where we're going, _duh!_ "

"You could give me directions!"

"Just get let me drive, for God's sake, Maka!"

Maka ends up climbing into the passenger's seat, grumbling the whole way. Starting to fiddle with the radio, bottom lip stuck out petulantly as Soul climbs in beside her.

"What the fuck is this?" he asks, nose scrunching up at the sound of Maka's station choice, turning the keys in the ignition.

"It's the only thing that gets proper reception out here!" Maka grits out defensively. She knows that she's not nearly as cultured in the ways of music as his family (not everyone could be the child of the acclaimed Adrian Evans!) but her music taste isn't that terrible, damnit!

"Sure" he snorts "you think I don't remember your Youtube playlists, Maka?"

"How did you-"

"You left me and Blake in your room whilst you went to the bathroom" he raises a brow at her glare. "What did 'ya think we were gonna do? Blake obviously wanted to change your Facebook status to 'I love cock' but I knew that would get us killed, so I suggested we gather Intel instead. And look, it's finally comin' in useful" his smile is devilish, dimples on full display.

Maka face is bright red with rage "there wasn't even anything bad on there!" except her original stories, and her poems, and her blog. _Oh god,_ _her blog!_ Lord, please say they didn't find her blog!

"Your Cascada playlist says otherwise" he sing-songs.

She flushes "there's nothing wrong with Cascada! She was very popular back then!"

"Popular 6 years ago maybe, _but 3?_ Come on Maka even you know that it's lame"

"I swear to God, Soul, if we aren't at that pig pen in the next 10 seconds I'm gonna smash your head into the dashboard!"

"We're almost there, God! You're still so violent!"

"Don't you forget it!" Maka fires back as they pull up.

"This is all new" Maka states dumbly, her anger fading away as she stares around in amazement. Rows of new, freshly painted, white pens are all lined up in a row and, not far behind them, are a few half-built stables. And was that a _paddock!?_

Soul shrugs as she gapes at him in astonishment "we've been busy"

"How long has all this been here?" she asks, clambering out of the truck.

"We just finished the pens actually" Soul slams the driver's door shut behind him, waving his hand for her to follow him

"This has all been done since you got here?" she blinks, trailing after him, having to walk quickly to keep up with his long legs.

"Yeah, Gran's had the idea for a while, just not the man power to do it. But we managed to organise things. Got Mifune and Kilik on board, got Sid to take some time out from his duties to help us. Blake even did his bit, though we didn't trust him near the drills and shit"

Maka notices how he never says _'I'_ , it's all _'we'._ It seems like he doesn't want to take credit for all this. Though it's clear to Maka, that he is the catalyst for these sudden improvements. None of this would have happened without him.

"It's amazing, _really._ You've done a great job" and she means it.

"Thanks" he mumbles, shoving his hands in his pockets. Humble as ever. Maka rolls her eyes good-naturedly. For all his cool-guy attitude as a kid, he never seems to acknowledge his successes. It may be part of why he'd become so ill, it must be hard to feel positive about yourself when you ignore all the good stuff you've done.

"Here they are" he grunts, lifting his chin up towards the only occupied pen.

Maka grins, climbing onto the bars of the fence, like she'd done so many times in the past. "Whoa! Are any of these the piglets from a few years back?"

There are only four pigs in the rather large pen, it seems the rumours are true about Ruth downsizing.

"Yep, you see that one" he points at the very back corner, at a big pink lump mostly covered in hay. Maka nods eagerly, looking at the pig and then back at him "that's Crona"

"You're kidding!" She exclaims, rising onto her tiptoes to get a better look "they're so big!"

"Yeah, still don't know if that one's a boy or a girl, can never get hold of it. They're a shy thing, always bolts away from me when I try and round it up. It's fine though, we ain't gonna use that one for breading anyway, too nervy."

"What about Crona's siblings? Did you keep any of them?"

"We kept one more, Gran had to sell a lot of them when her health got worse" his voice goes a little quieter and Maka gets the sense that it's something he doesn't like talking about. "That other one is Crona's brother, Rangarock"

"Ragnarock?" Maka repeats incredulously.

"Don't look at me! Blake named him"

Maka snorts, the whole things reeks of Blake. "No wonder! Poor thing"

"Yeah, I shoulda really known better then to let 'Star choose. I pity his future children"

"Same. At least there's a chance that Tsubaki can rein him in and give the kids semi-normal names"

"What, like ours?"

"Hmm, I suppose ours are a little weird"

"Outta Death City people think I'm named after a shoe" he says, drumming his fingers against the top of the gate.

"A shoe?" her brows furrow, turning her head to look at him from his position behind her.

"Y'know, the bottom part" he points down to his boot.

"Oh. That's stupid, it clearly makes more sense for you to be named after the metaphysical kind of soul"

"That word if far too big for me so I'll take your word for it" he smiles wryly.

Maka giggles, leaning back a little too far on the fence, Soul's hand quickly places itself firmly on her lower back, steadying her.

"Whoa there" his rumbles near her ear, amusement evident in the deep timbre of his voice.

"I'm not a horse" she says, a little breathily, as he adjusts his stance, letting her upper back rest against his chest, his hands placed on the gate at either side of her. Maka swallows nervously, she can feel the heat of his body pressing against her, can feel the soft, worn fabric of his plaid shirt and the way his stubble tickles the crown of her head.

"Speakinn' of horses" he mutters, and Maka can feel every word brewing inside his chest before his lips even move to form them "we'll be getting' some soon. Patty says she's willin' to help out with 'em"

"Wow" Maka blinks at him, getting a good view of his profile as she glances over her shoulder. "You're really going all out with this place"

Soul grunts in acknowledgement, and she can feel the vibrations against her back "I wanna make it good again, like it was before dad left and gramps died. Gran deserves to see it at its former glory again"

"You're sweet" the words just slip out, but she swallows her embarrassment, turning her head to look at him properly "your Gran must be really pleased to have you around again"

"I guess" he shrugs again.

"No, Soul, listen, we're all really glad to have you back. Don't brush it off" she says earnestly, biting her lip.

"Sorry" he mumbles "not so great at the whole 'self-esteem' thing"

"Well, work on it" Maka insists "you've got a lot to be proud of yourself about"

Silence fells, and Maka begins chewing her lip so roughly it's a wonder she hasn't drawn blood, fear curdling in her belly as she wonders if she's gone too far. It's really none of her business, but she can't really stand to see him treat himself badly. He deserves to be happy with himself.

"Thanks, Maka" he murmurs quietly, hand sliding across the top of the gate to loosely grip her wrist.

"You're welcome" she closes her eyes, leaning back into him with a relieved sigh.

* * *

 _"Blake?" she asks through the walkie-talkie, voice weak and eyes watery._

 _She's not all that surprised when she gets no response, there are no lights on at the Barret house, they're probably out somewhere. Maybe they've finally given in and taken Blake to that ridiculous, action movie he's been begging to see._

 _She still tires again anyway._

 _"Blake, are you there?" before thinking better and adding "Over". Blake's very instant on using it at the end of every sentence, to Maka it just seems pointless, like it could lead to a lot of unnecessary, sitcom-like confusion._

 _Sighing, she tosses the walkie-talkie aside, pulling her knees tightly against her chest as she sits on the bed. The voices are still loud downstairs, she doesn't have to listen hard to hear that her mother's rage has now turned into breathy sobs. It would be better if she could blast her music, drown out the sound with cheap pop music. But she doesn't want them to know she can hear them. She doesn't want to be here at all, she wishes she could escape, go hide in the den she, Blake and Soul had built, only returning when her papa stops cheating and her mama's heart stops breaking._

 _"S'up, Pigtails?" his gruff voice is faint over the static, but she can still make it out._

 _"Soul?" she squeaks, desperately scrambling for the small device "Soul!" she repeats, pressing the button so he could hear her this time._

 _"Hey" he greets, voice warm and she feels a little less empty._

 _"Blake not answering?" he asks and she's still in shock really, because she'd thought it impossible to get a signal from the farm, they'd never even bothered trying. Soul had only been given their third walkie-talkie out of a technicality, more of a symbol of their friendship than an actual means of communication. He must have had it for years, stored away, unused in a draw somewhere until now._

 _"No, I don't think he's in" she replies, voice smaller than she would like, she tries to muffle the sound of her sniffling as she talks, hoping that the bad connection will hide her sadness from him._

 _She should be good at deceit by now though, at the age of 12 she is already proficient at lying through her teeth, at least when it comes to pretending that she's happy, anyway._

 _"Are you -are you crying?" he asks, his voice coming through much clearer this time, as if he's holding it much closer to his mouth. He sounds panicked._

 _"No!" she insists, but it's obvious to them both that she's upset._

 _"Shit" he hisses through the frequency, and Maka's not in the mood to scold him for his bad language "shit, what's up?"_

 _"It's nothing…"_

 _"No, you're upset and you were trying to get in touch with 'Star. Something's up, Maka. You can tell me" his voice is so sincere that she can't help but believe him. He is one of her best friends, at the end of the day. Whilst he may tease her sometimes, she knows he won't mock her over this. Not over her dysfunctional family, not when she's watched him try to subtly wipe away tears with his sleeve every time his father comes to pick him up from Death City._

 _She's gets the feeling that his family life isn't perfect either. It shouldn't be comforting, figuring out her friend probably has to deal with this sort of stuff too, but it is. Because at least she's not alone._

 _"I -"_

 _"Is it you folks?" he asks, the static not hiding how gentle his voice sounds. He understands._

 _"Yeah" she croaks, throat sore with the effort of holding back her tears "did Blake tell you..?"_

 _"No. I just heard it…around"_

 _He's trying to beat around the bush, but Maka knows what that means. It's no secret to anyone in town that Spirit and Kami Albarn's marriage is on the rocks. People must be gossiping about it._

 _"Oh" is all she can say, dabbing her eyes with her hand clumsily._

 _"Sorry that I'm not very good at this…" he apologies._

 _"It's fine, really, it's nice to have someone to talk to" and boy, does she mean it. Even if the conversation is punctuating by clicking buttons and awkward pauses._

 _"You usually talk to Blake?"_

 _"Yeah, sometimes…if it's really bad" Blake isn't the best when it came to tact, but he tries and, when the shit hits the fan, she can count on him._

 _She hears his exhale before he replies "you can always come to me, y'know. Could climb out the window if you want, I'll come get you on my bike"_

 _And then she's laughing, pressing the button so firmly it bites into her thumb "you're sweet" she giggles, eyes still wet "stupid, but sweet"_

 _"You sure you don't want me to come get you?" he asks and his voice is firm, telling her that he would do it, would ride around town in the dark to come fetch her._

 _"My parents would be worried…"_

 _"Fuck 'em"_

 _"Soul!" she snorts, trying to sound stern but failing "it's fine just…talk to me for a while, okay? Urm, tell me about the farm"_

 _"Uh 'kay, it's not very interesting though"_

 _"I don't mind"_

 _"Alright" he mumbles._

 _Soul tells her stupid things, stories of the farm, stories of Blake's near death experiences with angry cows, all his theories about people's double-lives ("no way, Soul, Sid is not a secret body builder!") and his Gran's stories from her youth, which had, supposedly, 'scarred him for life'._

 _It does the trick though, gets her out of her own head for a while, gets her laughing. Makes her feels a little less trapped in her room as the war wages on downstairs._

 _It's not the last time she turns to him that summer, it happens more times than she can keep track of. They talk and talk and talk until they're both amazed they have another word to say to each other, and it helps_ _ **so much**_ _. It drags her through all the hard times with her parents and, when he leaves at the end of the summer, he's not the only one who's teary-eyed._

 _It's not just because she needs him to help her weather the storm of her parent's marriage, it's because she doesn't know what she'll do if she can't hear his raspy laugh through the static of the walkie-talkie every night._

* * *

Motorbikes are scary Maka finds, much scarier than hitching rides on the back of her friend's dirt bikes. Not even the protection of her helmet can distract Maka from thoughts of falling off or crashing. She doesn't want to meet a fiery end, thank you very much.

Soul has other ideas though, his body is relaxed as she clings to him desperately. Even if his heart rate is a little fast, he seems at ease, weaving though the widening streets that lead to her house. She doesn't even have to give him any directions, he heads to her house without even the slightest bit of hesitation.

He comes to a stop at the end of her drive, and Maka is more than happy to get as far away from Soul' bright orange monstrosity as she can.

"Have fun?" Soul smirks widely as she scrambles off the bike, watching her as she rags the helmet over her head, pigtails mussed and drooping.

"No!" she huffs, face red from wearing the helmet on such a warm evening. She tosses the offending item to him, a little more forcefully than necessary.

He catches it, hands only fumbling slightly "didn't really think it would be your sortta thing" he smiles wryly, and the sight of his dimples and lazy red eyes are not helping to ease her irritation.

"It's definitely not! It's a death trap! And you better get a second helmet!" she brandishes her fingers at him as he climbs off the bike, with far more elegance than her "If we'd crashed you'd have been a goner"

"Yee of little faith" he shakes his head, placing the helmet on the seat "I'm a good driver. I wouldn't have crashed"

"It could happen to anyone, Soul!" she feels like stomping her foot, but that's childish and she doesn't think she can take seeing his smug smirk again. And not just because it makes her insides all warm.

"Alright, mom" he rolls his eyes "better me than you though, don't want anything happin' to that big brain of yours"

"Soul!" she says warningly, poised to begin a lecture on the importance of his safety.

"Okay, okay, I get it, you're worried about me, I appreciate it" he runs a hand through his windswept hair. "I'll see about gettin' another, okay?"

Maka nods, letting out a pleased hum of acknowledgement, before walking up her gravelled driveway.

"I thought you said you were gonna have dinner with your dad" Soul calls after her, jogging slightly to catch up "place looks empty to me".

"Oh, we're gonna have dinner at Frank and Marie's, he text me earlier, he's already there"

"Ah, so why did you want droppin' off here?" He asks as they climb the steps to her front porch.

"I wanna change my shoes before I go there. I think I stepped in pig poop" her nose scrunches up in distaste, she doubts Marie would want her tracking faeces into her cream carpet.

"Let me look" he states, gesturing for her to lift up her foot. Maka grabs hold of the wooden railing that surrounds her porch for balance, as she lifts her right ankle, heart jumping into overdrive as he grips her bare ankle gently, lifting her foot further up.

She feels a little shaky all of a sudden, mind flickering straight back to thoughts of the last time the two of them were here, on a night very like this one.

Though last time had seemed a little more romantic, in the sense that no one had talked about pig poop.

"Yep" he evaluates, voice low as he stoops his head to inspect the bottom of her boot "that's pig shit, alright. Thought I smelt somethin' funny on the ride here"

Maka nods weakly, tugging her leg down a little, he gets the picture, releasing her ankle, fingertips brushing against her skin as he lets her foot fall to the floor. Maka's left completely dazed, mouth hanging open slightly, as her eyes flicker up to his face.

"I can wait for you if you want" he offers as he straightens up, resting his slim hips against the railings.

"Huh?" she says dumbly, still a little stunned by the feel of him touching her skin. She can't believe how flustered one little touch has her. If she was in any doubt before, that her feelings for him were back in full force, she certainly isn't anymore.

"While you change your shoes" he says slowly, he nods towards her legs and Maka crosses her ankles nervously, remembering Liz's words from Kid's house. Was he really a leg kinda guy?

"Can give you a lift to Marie's place, if you want"

 _"Oh_. Oh! No, it's fine. It's just down the road, really! And my papa will be there so- -"

"So it's probably best he doesn't see me droppin' you off?" he supplies.

"Yeah, he gets…protective"

"That's one way of sayin' it, yeah" he snorts, lips curving into a smirk "gave me a talkin' to when I was 11. Warned me off from you"

"He didn't!" she groans, pinching the bridge of her nose "sorry! He's an idiot!"

"S'fine" Soul shrugs "wasn't completely unfounded anyway" he rubs along his jaw and Maka's eyes follow the motion "I kinda had a massive thing for you when we were kids" he admits, his body language is casual but it's clearly a facade, his shoulders are tense and he keeps swallowing nervously.

She's not doing so well herself, she can feel her blush creeping down her chest "Soul?" she begins, after a few a seconds of silence, voice small "Can I- Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah" he clears his throat, standing a little straighter "shoot"

"Why did you come back?" she leans against her front door, bracing herself slightly "I know that you said you came back to help with your Gran but- there's more, right? There's more to it than that"

He exhales shakily, hand shifting to rub the back of his neck "thought you'd see through it" he laughs, voice tight "Gran's health was a good excuse, really. I mean, I _wanted_ to help her, of course I did, but it was a good reason to get out"

"Get out?" she prompts.

"From my parent's house….I couldn't stay there anymore"

"Why? Because of the pressure?"

He nods jerkily "they're not bad people, my parents. They just want me to be somethin' I'm not. I'm not Wes, no matter how hard I try – _I can't be like him"_

She stays silent, letting him speak. It's hard though, when all she wants to do is comfort him because, in this moment, he's that same boy she first met all those years ago, all lost and unsure of himself.

"If I'd stayed, I would've been back to where I was 3 years ago. I don't wanna get like that again. I don't like having to just stay away from my own parents but I have to. I don't wanna get fucked up again" he gestures to his head and Maka gets it, gets what he means.

She kinda wants to cry.

"My mama wants me to go to NYU" she starts and then the words just keep coming "every time we talk she brings it up, asking me if I've made a choice. I'm just a Junior. I don't know if that's what I want yet. She hated it here, trapped with me and my dad in the middle of nowhere. She thought she was wasting her life here. She thinks if I stay I'll be wasting mine too"

Maka focuses her gaze on her feet. She can't look at him, not right now. Because she hates it all so much, all the pressure, the expectations and how it's messed them both up, how it's screwed up their relationship with their parents.

"I'm not saying I wanna stay here forever, I don't know that yet but I'm happy here. Death City is my home, but I'm afraid to tell her that -"

"In case you lose her?"

"Yeah" she whispers, eyes watery, holding herself tightly.

"If that happens then fuck her, Maka" he says, voice firm and he's right in front of her now, tall and steady "I'm not my brother, you're not your mom, don't force yourself to be what you're not. S'not healthy"

"Soul" she practically sobs. She's missed him so much, she's needed this so badly, to hear those words from him, because no one gets it like he does.

And then her lips hare on his, nose stinging from where it bumps roughly against his, and she's pretty sure she's crying a little as she pulls back.

"Sorry" she sniffs, laughing weakly, wiping at her eyes.

"No, it's fine" he insists, hands finding her sides and the way he grips her tightly, the way he pulls her close against him, she knows that it's not one sided.

"Can I – again?"

"God, Yeah" he whispers, pressing his mouth back against hers. Its better this time, they angle their heads properly and their noses don't collide. Her hands are on his jaw, fingers rubbing against his stubble and his long fingers are in her hair, completely destroying what's left of her pigtails.

"Don't leave me" she murmurs against his mouth, cradling his face gently "not again"

"I won't" he says, voice quiet but strong, his body steady as it's pressed against hers. And she believes him, lets the past go, puts her faith back into him completely. "Not this time".


End file.
